


Us Against The World

by APotatoeWithStandards



Category: Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Crutchie and Jack are brothers, Katherine Plumber Pulitzer is a Good Friend, M/M, Minor Spot Conlon/Racetrack Higgins, Not exactly slow burn, Pining, Protests, depictions of violence, lots of trees
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-08
Updated: 2019-08-20
Packaged: 2020-08-13 05:38:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20169040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/APotatoeWithStandards/pseuds/APotatoeWithStandards
Summary: Davey Jacobs loves trees. That's the one thing he's sure of in his constantly changing world; his new friends are hectic, the work is exhausting, and his growing feelings for a certain Jack Kelly are beyond confusing. And out of his control. His one solace is the beautiful field of trees on campus.However, just as he feels like he's settled in, finally finding a place among people not nature, it's all at risk of being torn away. When the school releases plans to cut down the trees, Davey's world is turned upside down as he and the rest of the boys begin a protest that won't be forgotten. A group of kids versus an entire school, a wealthy company, and what feels like the world. What could go wrong?





	1. Chapter One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Davey first realises his feelings for Jack.

Davey had always liked trees.

Trees weren’t always the most common occurrence, not those ancient ones in a vast expanse of greenery, and certainly not when living in the city. A busy metropolis filled with noise and smoke and grey and busy, busy, busy. Everything and everyone was busy. Always moving. Always something to do. It got too much sometimes.  
Trees were the opposite to that constant white noise of a bustling city. They were a grounding force for Davey, helping him silence the buzzing in his head for just a little bit, they were calming. And they were beautiful, especially those massive, old, mysterious ones. Those ones that have seen the world pass around them, impassive to the change, always standing strong. Davey figured he’d be better off if he were a little more like the trees; brave, resillient, never backing down.

So, almost a year ago, when Davey had first moved to his new school and discovered the campus had a collection of trees strewed past their field, he was overjoyed to say the least. The trees were really what set his school apart from any other, just that added touch of colour and life made the whole place so much more beautiful. He spent a lot of time there, amongst them, maybe at times when he wasn’t necessarily meant to be, but that didn’t really matter. Even as he got more comfortable at his new place, began making some friends, he still went to the trees. Being there calmed his worries.

One day, someone else was there too.

Davey had just sat down, back leaning against the bark of a tree, head tilting back slightly and eyes flicking shut. Finally, he could breathe.

“Fancy seein’ you here.” A smug voice suddenly cut through Davey’s peace. He jerked immediately, stumbling to his feet and scanning his surroundings. He felt a sense of relief as his eyes landed on the owner of the voice, who was casually leaning against the tree adjacent him, smirking.

“Just me.” Jack stated, holding his hands up, smirk becoming more of a warm, reassuring smile as he wandered towards him. Jack’s entire demeanour seemed casual, the way he swung his legs in front of each other with an easiness so visible it seemed purposeful. He truly had mastered the art of confidence. Or perhaps it was just the art of false confidence. Jack was shorter than Davey, not by much though, he was more muscular too… not that that was hard. His eyes kind. That’s the only way to truly describe them. His brown hair was mostly hidden by that ridiculous flat cap he insisted on wearing.

“So… whatcha doin’ out here then, Dave?” Jack asked, standing in front of the taller boy.  
Davey shrugged, despite considering Jack a good friend by now he’d never really mentioned his trips to the cypresses and oaks. He shrugged. “I like trees, I guess.”

Jack chuckled. “Anxious and likes trees? Who are you, Evan Hansen?”

“What does that make you? Jared Klienman?”

“Kinky.”

“Please stop.”

They laughed, until silence once again fell and they just stood there, looking at each other somewhat awkwardly.

“So… What brings you here then, Kelly?”

Jack shrugged. “Trees are good to paint, ‘specially these ones. I like comming here, gives me inspiration and all that.”  
Davey nodded, he should have realised; Jack was an art student after all.

“Now Davey, I see lots a’ people wanderin’ round here, they’re fun to sketch too, and loads of them like trees plenty. No one’s looked like you though. So, what’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

Jack sighed. “What I mean is…” He trailed off, leaning against the tree Davey had just been pressed up against. “… It’s no secret you worry a lot, so what’s worrin’ you right now?”

Davey blinked, genuinely surprised. Yeah, his friend’s knew he was often anxious. His constant worrying coupled with his tendency to be the only one with any common sense had led to him being dubbed the… what was it? The “Mom Friend.” Still, he’d never thought of talking through everything he was scared of with them. Why burden them? It’s not their responsibility what goes on in his life, or his head. He was probably being stupid anyway. Besides, nothing they could do about it.  
But then again, there was Jack. He’d slid down the bark and was currently sat with his bag beside him, sketchbook resting on his drawn up legs, hands moving gently, elegantly. Only after a moment did his eyes glance up to meet Davey’s; expectant but not threatening, not demanding. Just gentle.

Davey sighed, allowing himself to slide down the tree the same as Jack had, back against it and legs stretched out across the soft grass, shoulders barely brushing against the other boy’s. Then he sighed again.  
“It’s just, well, my brother, Les, I worry about him. He’s not taken to the move as much. He hates it. He hates everything about school. I try and help him with it but… And then with my sister starting college, that’s really exciting and everything, but I miss her. Then there’s my own work and everything feels so… up in the air. The information. I understand it, at the time, but I can’t remember it. I’ve tried researching and everything but the words just, I don’t know, get lost. And then, on top of everything else, I need to get a job so I have some sort of work experience so I’m not at such a disadvantage later, but then I’m worried I won’t have any time, but I look around and it feels like everyone’s working, and that makes me feel useless. I’ve been rejected from so many places by now, it’s beginning to get me, and with everything else there’s just… too much. Too much, too much, too much. Too much noise in my head, I feel like I can’t even think.” Davey ran his hands through his hair. “Too much grey. Too much smoke. Too much noise.” He groaned in resignation, hands still pulling at his own dark curls.  
“It’s just a lot.” He decided, squeezing his eyes shut, not noticing that Jack had stopped sketching in favour of looking at him, eyes wide, sympathetic if a bit concerned. Davey just let his arms fall to his side, keeping his eyes shut.  
“Here I can forget everything, just for a bit, and not have to feel guilty about it, y‘know?”

Jack looked back down at his paper, hand moving automatically, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. Davey opened his eyes and looked over, he couldn’t help but feel slightly lighter, some weight was gone. That was until he realised Jack wasn’t saying anything.

“Oh- I’m, er- so-“

“Don’t.” Jack interrupted, looking up from his drawings. “Don’t be sorry.”

Davey’s train of apologies came screeching to a halt. Instead, all he found himself able to say was; “Okay.”

“Listen, Dave, it’s real lousy about your brother, and missing you sister, and everything else. I know I can’t help with all of that, but, I think I can help with the job.” He was smiling by now. Davey whipped around to face him, eyes wide.  
“I do this paper round, see. Couple of the other boys do it too. Sure, it’s not much, but it’s better than some. Pays alright, hours ain’t half bad, and you’ll be workin’ alongside yours truly.” His smile split into a grin. “The manager was sayin’ he wants someone else to help on my route, I got more people, longer walk, too much on my own or something. Waddaya say?”

“Jack… Are you sure? I mean, I’d have to apply and everything, are you sure I’d even-“

“Davey, relax. Trust me. You’ll get the job.”

Silence.

Davey didn’t know what to say, he felt something wash over him, relief? He felt so light, that sickness was no longer crawling in his gut. He felt hopeful, maybe everything wouldn’t be so bad. That would be manageable. That’s all he wanted; manageable. And that’s what Jack was offering, with those brilliant green eyes and award-winning-Jack-Kelly smile.  
A soft smile broke through his frown, before he could think to stop it. He nodded slightly. “Thank you, Jack. Really. Thank you, for everything.”

“Ah, don’t sweat it.” He replied easily, going back to his drawing.

They both sat there in silence, sort of dreaming, sort of not. Neither was sure how long they sat there, but Davey had pulled a book from his bag and was reading it, highlighting and annotating as Jack continued to sketch. The sun was glowing a dazzling gold by the time either realised they should probably be going, still the goodbyes were reluctant.

And that was the day Davey Jacobs realised he had a small affinity for the boy with the kind eyes and easy confidence.

Some may use the word “crush,” but Davey would never admit to that.

Affinity sounded much better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is something I've been working on for a while. I'm really not sure it'll be very good but at the very least I have a plan, I know where everything is going, so that's at the least helpful. I really hope anyone who has found this enjoys this! I cannot say when updates will be, I have random chapters written but nothing is in order however, by posting this I am forcing myself to prioritise this and hopefully a lot of work will be done.


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An introduction for the group

Davey enjoyed his walk to school, he felt it woke him up and prepared him for the day. His brother, not so much, for Les it was just another thing to hate. It was too long, he was tired before the day had even started, how was that fair? 

“So… what do you have today.” Davey asked, trying to encourage a conversation, hoping Les was in the talking mood. 

“Boring stuff.” 

“You say everything is boring stuff.” 

“That’s because it is.” 

_ That conversation died pretty quickly. _

“I wish I could hang out with your friends.” Les admitted, his voice low and head down, though Davey could practically hear the pout. He felt something tug at his insides, guilt? Les got along so well with Davey’s friends, he wished he could do that with people his own age. Davey was of course overjoyed his brother loved the guys as much as he did, but equally, in a way, he felt he’d gotten lucky and Les had been left with nothing. He’d gotten friends, amazing friends, and Les had gotten rotten luck. 

“I know, so do I. You know they all love you.” 

“How can they not?” Les joked, but there was something bitter in his voice. 

“Hey.” Davey stopped walking, forcing his brother to look up at him. “I know you’re not really enjoying school, but trust me, it’s gonna get better. People will come and go, and you’re gonna find new people who’ll you like just as much. You just gotta give it time, okay?” 

“Whatever.” Les turned, but there was an obvious smile on his face, not so much because he believed Davey, more that he appreciated his attempts. 

When they finally got to school, the first people they were greeted by were two boys; one with emerald eyes and a stupid cap, the other with sandy blonde hair and crutches; Jack and his foster brother Crutchie, who’d also walked. They lived fairly close by and Crutch absolutely refused a lift from Medda, he wouldn’t let his bum leg define him. He was walking to school. Every day. And he did, with no trouble, in fact the most trouble was from Jack rarely ever leaving on time and making them both late. Luckily, today was one of those days where Crutchie had all but dragged his brother out of the house. 

“Ayy! There he is!” Jack grinned, walking straight up to Les and ruffling his hair, to which Les pouted and pushed his hand away, though Davey could see the joy just at Jack’s attention. Jack was pretty much Les’ hero; cool, charismatic, confident. Three very important Cs. Not to mention kind, genuine, understanding- 

_Slow down, Jacobs. _ Davey told himself, trying not to blush at himself. He was not letting this tiny “crush” get the better of him, he was barely settled in, he wasn’t ruining his relationships for this. Jack was a good guy. A really good guy. This affinity was understandable, but not unmanageable. 

“Hands off the merchandise.” Les joked back, running his own hands through his hair. 

Jack’s grin was dazzling, he threw his head back in a laugh. “You got it, bud.” He beamed. 

“See you managed to drag him out of bed,” Davey said to Crutchie, pointing at Jack. “You deserve a medal.” 

Crutchie bowed his head. “Thank you, thank you. Glad someone appreciates my efforts.” 

“Hey! That’s unfair!” Jack called, folding his arms and facing the pair. Les copied him, Davey wasn’t sure if it was an on purpose or unconscious. 

“Yeah, yeah, you right.” Crutchie conceded, still smiling brightly. “Medda helped, gotta give her some credit.” 

“Bullying. That’s what this is, bullying.” 

“What is?” A tall, skinny boy with ruffled blonde hair asked, appearing out of nowhere and popping gum in his mouth. “Wow, Jack, you’re up early. Since when you on time?” He commented with a smirk and mock surprise. Jack threw his hands in the air. 

“Unbelievable. You too, Race?” 

A toned, slightly shorter boy, with a striped shirt and a backwards baseball cap, then appeared at Race’s side, easily slipped an unnoticed hand into the taller boy’s pocket and took his packet of gum. “I’m with you.” He added, walking round to the other side of Race. “The level o’ disrespect here is disgustin’.” He tossed a piece of gum in his mouth, then turned and grinned at Racetrack. 

The taller boy did a double take. “Hey!” He announced, snatching back his gum as the offender - Albert - laughed. “Take one again, you’ll be sorry.” Race threatened, somewhat joking. Somewhat. 

“Oh yeah, whatcha gonna do?” Albert challenged stepping closer. 

“I’ll set Spot on you.” He grinned, knowing Albert wouldn’t be able to fight that. As much as Race could take care of himself, his boyfriend, Spot, was his trump card. Spot was renowned as the toughest, strongest, scariest kid in Brooklyn, and Race and his friend’s knew it. Unfortunately, it seemed on the journey between Brooklyn and Manhattan, Spot’s reputation got lost a bit, only reaching a few people here, meaning the Delancey’s had no qualms picking on Race, and Race could fight his own battles against those idiots. Still, his secret-sweetheart of a boyfriend’s frightening exterior gave him a way to shut up the boys every once in a while. 

“Alright, alright. Break it up, you two.” Jack interrupted, still laughing at them. Albert had fallen silent, he knew Race was joking… but he wouldn’t be the first to find Spot a bit intimidating. 

The boys hung around together for a while, more and more people arriving, most of which made some sort of comment about Jack’s presence. He was very often late, to everything. For the most part Davey spoke to Crutchie, glancing over at Jack and Les a fair few times. Jack was crouching down, seemingly delivering a very well-thought out game plan to Les, with a numerous amount of hand gestures and nudges. Les was eating up every word, nodding along, gears visibly turning in his brain. When the bell finally went, and Les had to be pried away from the group, Jack gave him a high five and they both nodded, as if set on something, and Les went to skitter off. 

“Um, hello, brother here. Do I not even get a goodbye?” Davey asked. 

“Goodbye!” Les called, then disappeared into a swarm of people, off to a different part of the school. 

Jack came up behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder, laughing. Davey’s heart rate suddenly spiked, it took all of his will power not to lean into Jack’s touch and instead he opened his mouth. “I appreciate you hanging out with him Jack, he really looks up to you. Even if he prefers you to me.” Jack laughed even more, steering Davey down the hallways, hand still on his shoulder- Jack could be quite touchy. 

“Nah, I wouldn’t worry about that, you’re a great older brother. You guys look out for each other.” 

_ I’m not doing a good job of it. _ Davey thought to himself, remembering the poor kid’s miserable expression on the walk here. He chose not to say that though. “What were you guys talking about?” Jack chuckled, his eyes practically sparkling. 

“Sharing my secrets. Tellin’ him how to get all the girls.” 

“Your secrets, yeah?” Davey snorted, trying to ignore the slight gut-punch at being reminded that Jack Kelly was very much straight. 

“You know me, I’m a ladies man.” Jack grinned again, moving his hand from Davey’s shoulder so he could walk backwards in front of him and pull on his brown suspenders. 

“Haven’t you only had one girlfriend?” Davey asked, masking his bitterness by a joking tone. 

“Ah, only one girlfriend, Dave. Not only one girl.” He winked and turned around, walking just in front of him. Davey really wasn’t sure if he was joking or not. Like he’d said, Jack was charming, he wouldn't be surprised if he had girls falling at his feet. 

“Didn’t Katherine dump you?” Jack spun round again, glaring at him. “Was it all the girls you were getting.” Davey continued. 

“Shut it.” The shorter warned, once again turning around. He reached the door to his class, pausing with his hand on the handle, locking eyes with Davey as he walked past - his lesson was in a class further down the hall. “Y’know, I’m fairly sure I’ve never heard you mention a girl before.” Jack teased. 

“And I’m fairly sure you’re actually going to be on time to a lesson! Shocking! Crutchie’s rubbing off on you.” Davey effortlessly dodged the topic, turning and walking towards his class. 

“Now we can’t have that.” Jack’s voice called from behind him, followed by quick footsteps, and suddenly he was beside him, pestering.  
“C’mon, there’s gotta be someone.” 

_ Is he actually trying to taunt me? This is just rubbing it in my face. _

“Answer me.” Jack whined, dragging out the “e.” 

_ Could he not be adorable while he was doing it. _ Davey could feel his nerves getting sent into overdrive, and, surprisingly, a small amount of anger boil. 

“Tell me, who’s the lucky gal, come on.”  
_ Right. _  
“Guy.” Davey answered, maybe a bit too bluntly. 

Jack seemed to fall silent, suddenly Davey had realised what he had said, stopping dead in his tracks. He was going to be sick. How could he have been so stupid? This wasn’t how he wanted to come out. It was fine. Race was bisexual, wasn’t he? Jack wouldn’t mind. But he still hadn’t said anything, What if it wasn’t alright. Davey was so wrong. He could feel his hands beginning to shake. _ Oh God, I’ve done it now. _

He took a breath, forcing himself back down, grounding himself for a moment. “I’m gay.” He stated, deadpan, as if it needed more explaining. 

“You mean to tell me, I have known you for months, and I’m only findin’ this out now?” Jack asked, incredulously, and Davey was so certain that was it. Goodbye friendship, goodbye kindness, goodbye any stability or happiness he’d actually found in his life. Time to go live with the trees. Maybe he could move again. “Dave! I am so sorry! I have been trying to set you up with all the wrong people.”

Davey’s relief was visible, the way his face softened into a bright smile, the audible sigh, the way everything just untensed, it was like a wave. One that he’d gladly drown in. He felt so much lighter, a burden he hadn’t even realised he was carrying had been lifted. “Well, it’s… it’s sort of a new thing. I _ think _ I’m gay.” He admitted, now somewhat sheepishly. He didn’t want to mention what he felt for Jack, those overwhelming and at times irritating butterflies, the sparks that he felt just at his touch, the way he felt so safe around him, were unlike anything he’d experienced before. And then, when he’d thought about it, he really hadn’t felt like that at all before. He always thought he was too busy to pay attention, that he’d find the right girl eventually but not now. Now, he’d realised he just wasn’t interested in general, and it had actually made a lot of sense. So maybe Jack had helped him realise that, so what? It didn’t mean anything, just a silly crush that would fade, but help him develop as a person, and as grateful as Davey was for that, he was in no rush for his friend to know the full story. 

“Does anyone else know?” Jack asked, still walking next to the taller boy hands in his pockets. 

“No, just you. But I, um, I don’t want to make this a big deal so you can tell them, if you like.” 

“Seriously?” 

“Yeah, I’m not one for big fusses, and I know they’ll all be fine with it, so if it could just be an understood fact. It doesn’t change anything, you know.” 

“Yeah, I know.” They finally reached the door to Davey’s class, the hallway had been longer than Davey had ever anticipated, it felt like a lifetime, despite having done this walk for months. Before the brunette could turn and make some sort of comment to distract himself, Jack pulled him into a hug. He was somewhat surprised at first, but easily melted into the feeling. His entire body just seemed to fit right against Jack’s, he felt his heart beat faster. 

“I’m really glad you told me, Dave.” Jack admitted. “I’m honoured.” He pulled away, still clasping a hand on his shoulder, when he smiled brightly. “An’ don’t worry, if there’s one thing we’re good at, it’s spreading news.” Davey laughed lightly, and Jack squeezed his shoulder, then turned and easily strolled back to his class, as if he hadn’t just left Davey breathless.

***

At lunch, it was the same, but somehow something felt different; brighter, vibrant, even frightening. Davey could tell they knew, not from a difference of attitude or a way they treated him, he just knew. It was weird, in a way it felt comfortable, like everything was so much lighter, yet at the same time a voice was gnawing at the back of his consciousness. 

_ What if you’re just doing this for attention. You’re not actually gay, you’re just saying it. They see right through you. _

Davey understood this was stupid, of course. He’d spent half of his lesson remembering the feeling of Jack’s hand on his shoulder - it was driving him insane - but still, what if he'd only convinced himself that’s what he was feeling? What if he was only mimicking thoughts he was meant to be thinking. Davey thought of himself as a pretty boring person, he was a self-admitted nerd, he was the sensible one, easily overlooked, maybe he was just subconsciously trying to make himself interesting. Flashing the label around like a trend. He didn’t believe that being gay was something cool or interesting in the slightest, it was just a thing, that he was, it changed nothing. But did he-

_ Stop. _

_ But but but! _ The voice was just taunting him now, laughing at his little mental struggle. _ What if _ they _ think it’s just for show, what if they also think you’re boring and irrelevant and are grasping anything to make you known. Davey Jacobs! He’s the gay one! Sticks out more, doesn’t it? So desperate to be known you’re not only faking it and lying to yourself, but that sounds borderline homophobic, what will Race think? _

Davey pressed the palm of one hand to his eye, hoping to somehow silence those thoughts. He knew who he was, sort of, he was a boy who liked other boys, explicitly, no interest in girls. Therefore, he must be gay. That’s how it worked, labels could just be so intimidating sometimes. 

“Hey, you okay?” It was Jack, something truly, genuinely kind in his voice. Davey relaxed. 

“Yeah, yeah. Long lesson.” He lied effortlessly; the lesson hadn’t been long, or particularly challenging, but enjoyable. Still, Jack didn’t need to know that. Jack nodded sympathetically nevertheless. 

“Gotcha.”

Suddenly, the wrapping of a straw sailed through the air and hit Davey in the head, causing an eruption of laughter. Davey smiled, looking for the offender, Race hid a juicebox behind his back but Elmer was the one with the straw, equally Romeo had that mischievous look in his eye. Jack had also been attempting to deduce this and decided that Elmer was the culprit, as made evident when another straw wrapper raced towards him. Elmer was hit straight in the forehead, dramatically falling backwards, exclaiming “I’ve been hit!” 

“Elmer!” Race cried. “You bastards!” He then reached over, grabbing Jojo’s innocently sat juice box, much to the others dismay, and aggressively pulled off the straw, firing it at Jack and Davey. Both boys managed to dodge the clearly lethal bit of plastic effectively, but Race reached over the table, snatching up more people’s drinks. 

“Crutch! Albert!” Jack called, needing no other descriptor. 

“You got it.”  
“Sure thing.” They both tossed Jack their drinks then disappeared under the table, missing the barrage of plastic wrappers Race had somehow managed to shoot at them. “Traitors!”

Davey also ducked under the table, along with pretty much all of the other boys, leaving just Jack and Race very dramatically spitting straw wrappers at each other, until they ran out and just began launching the actual straws, and then drinks- during all of this Elmer was still playing dead on the ground. Just a normal day, really. 

“Um, boys?” Both Jack and Race froze, and everyone else’s heads suddenly appeared over the edge of the table, revealing a very amused Kathrine looking at them all. 

“Well, hello.” Jack smiled. Kathrine was Jack’s ex, they’d dated for a while but both decided it wasn’t working and they were better as friends. It was a mutual thing, Jack had told them. He was also completely fine with it and okay, but only now Davey began wondering if that was true. Once again his heart dropped. The certain softness of Jack’s voice wasn’t something he heard often, he wondered if the others had noticed it too; one look at Albert showed he had, a sort of sympathy had set into his features. 

“Hey, um, I was actually looking for Davey.” Katherine said. 

“Huh?” Davey stood up, suddenly nervous all over again. “

Yeah, the English work, I was wondering if you’d done it?” That made sense; Kathrine was in his English class, she was amazing, she wanted to be a journalist. They both had had some really good conversations, and Davey would always ask Kath for help if he needed any. She was a good friend, and despite her past with Jack and what Davey assumed were left-over feelings, Davey liked her a lot. If Jack was going to fall for anyone that wasn’t him, he was glad it was her. 

“Yeah, but I’m not sure if I’m happy with it.” 

“Yeah, me neither. Could I send you it so I can get some feedback? I can do the same for you.” 

“Sounds good,” Davey smiled. “Thanks Katherine.” 

“No problem, now, go back to your… straw war.” She laughed, slightly confused but not surprised, she often sat with them, she knew what the boys were like. Davey looked towards Jack for a minute, noticing how his eyes trailed after her, as if wishing she’d turn back around. Suddenly Davey felt guilty, and it was made even worse when that look of sadness set into Jack’s expression. Everyone sat back down at the table, understanding their war was over without any winner, people were reaching over the table to retrieve their drinks, picking up any straw they could find. After awhile of normal conversation, or as normal as it got with them, the bell rang, freeing them to more lessons. Jack still seemed a bit conflicted about something, Davey could see it lurking behind the green of his eyes, he decided that he’d ask during their paper round. 

As soon Davey was walking away, his mind was racing again. Too many thoughts, mostly about his recent confession, none of them good. He knew he was overthinking, blowing it way out of proportion, but he couldn’t help it, he knew he only had one way to deal with it. 

Come the next break, Davey was nowhere to be found at the lunch table. Jack knew exactly where he was. Davey sat, instead, surrounded by a collection of cypress and oaks and other trees, letting his eyes shut and letting himself breath. They didn’t exactly silence the thoughts in his head, or the feelings that left him winded, but it gave him a place away from people to deal with them. He didn’t feel trapped, or alone, he felt safe. That’s all he could ask for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, I just realised, I sometimes ship Jack and Davey, sometimes Jack and Crutchie, I don't mind... but here I have made them brothers. Which is weird. Must clarify, I most certainly don't ship that. Idk.IN this AU I see them as a close brotherly relationship, but in other fanfics it's completely different. Sorry, I felt I needed to say this.
> 
> Also, shameless plug, but if you're the same as me check out my amazing friend @paintbug, she has some really great Jack/Crutchie fics which I genuinely adore


End file.
